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Rwandan hostel insists warm welcome awaits UK deportees

A sign in English at the hostel reads: 'Come as a guest, leave as a friend', but some migrants already living in the country are desperate to leave

Simon Rushton
Simon Rushton

June 14, 2022

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As ministers and hostel managers in Rwanda promised a warm welcome for asylum seekers being deported from the UK, some refugees already living in the East African country had a barrage of warnings for them.

A British court on Monday allowed the UK government to start deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda despite arguments by rights groups and migrants' advocates that the planned flights would undermine the “basic dignity” of people escaping war and oppression.

Those set to arrive under Rwanda’s new agreement with Britain will be housed in shelters around Kigali with features like private rooms, televisions and a swimming pool.

At one, the Hope Hostel, clocks in the lobby show the times in London and Paris, and a security guard patrols outside.

A sign in English reads: “Come as a guest, leave as a friend”

The interior of Hope Hostel, one of the locations that will house some of the asylum seekers due to be sent from Britain. AP
The interior of Hope Hostel, one of the locations that will house some of the asylum seekers due to be sent from Britain. AP

“This is not a prison,” manager Bakinahe Ismail says.

However, under a deal with the United Nations in 2019, hundreds of people sent previously to Rwanda have since been resettled in third countries, according to the UN refugee agency.

The UN Gashora centre for those previous arrivals is in a rural area outside the capital and offers more basic shared living facilities than Hope Hostel.

At Hope Hostel, clocks in the lobby show the times in London and Paris. AP
At Hope Hostel, clocks in the lobby show the times in London and Paris. AP

“If I was prepared to stay here in Rwanda I’d better [prefer to] go back to Libya,” said Peter Nyuoni, a refugee from South Sudan, who is at Gashora and being relocated to Finland.

Asked if he would consider staying in Rwanda, he said: “Never, and I will not do that. It would be a last mistake to do so.”

“Sometimes I play football and in the evening I drink because I have nothing to do,” said Faisal, a 20-year-old from Ethiopia who was relocated to Rwanda from Libya in 2019 in the first group of refugees resettled under a deal with the UN. “I pray daily to God that I leave this place.”

One of those who has found a foothold is Urubel Tesfaye, a 22-year-old from Ethiopia who is happy to have found a part-time job in a bakery in Kigali.

The UN Gashora transit centre for refugees and asylum seekers offers more basic living facilities. AP
The UN Gashora transit centre for refugees and asylum seekers offers more basic living facilities. AP

His friends speak of moving on to Canada or the Netherlands. “They have a disease in the head and cannot settle here,” he said of their determination to move.

Some refugees in Rwanda came straight to the country to escape troubles at home.

“When you are not employed, you cannot survive here,” said Kelly Nimubona, a refugee from neighbouring Burundi.

“We cannot afford to eat twice a day. There is no chance to get a job or do vending on the street.”

But he also described Rwanda as an oasis of order in the region.

British Home Secretary Priti Patel has challenged opponents of her plan to send migrants to Rwanda to come up with a better idea to tackle small-boat crossings in the Channel. PA
British Home Secretary Priti Patel has challenged opponents of her plan to send migrants to Rwanda to come up with a better idea to tackle small-boat crossings in the Channel. PA
A rescuer carries a child as migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, after a small-boat incident in the English Channel. PA
A rescuer carries a child as migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, after a small-boat incident in the English Channel. PA
Under the new proposals, asylum seekers who try to enter the UK through the English Channel route from France will be flown to Rwanda in Africa on a one-way ticket. PA
Under the new proposals, asylum seekers who try to enter the UK through the English Channel route from France will be flown to Rwanda in Africa on a one-way ticket. PA
A migrant found at sea while attempting to cross the English Channel boards a bus to be taken for processing in Dover. AFP
A migrant found at sea while attempting to cross the English Channel boards a bus to be taken for processing in Dover. AFP
A border force officer parks a dingy used to carry migrants at Dover Port. Getty Images
A border force officer parks a dingy used to carry migrants at Dover Port. Getty Images
The number of migrants who have reached the UK by crossing the English Channel has topped 6,000 so far this year, official figures showed. Getty Images
The number of migrants who have reached the UK by crossing the English Channel has topped 6,000 so far this year, official figures showed. Getty Images
British navy ship 'HMS Tyne' on patrol in the English Channel off the coast of Dover. PA
British navy ship 'HMS Tyne' on patrol in the English Channel off the coast of Dover. PA
A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, on board a Border Force vessel. PA
A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, on board a Border Force vessel. PA

Those sent to Rwanda under the deal with Britain must apply for asylum there.

Rwanda is one of the most densely populated countries in the world and still among the least developed, despite its focus on modernising since the country’s 1994 genocide.

Those migrants who sought better lives in Britain are expected to find fewer chances to pursue their dreams in Rwanda, even as Rwandan officials describe their country as having a proud history of welcoming those in need.

Yolande Makolo, a Rwandan government spokeswoman, said: “These are people so they have to be accommodated and safe”.

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